Top 10 Coolest Shit You Can Make on a 3D Printer

[easyazon_link identifier=”B016R9E7J2″ locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]3D Printers[/easyazon_link] are rising in popularity for good reason: You can make cool shit (the coolest 3d prints) with them.

In fact, there are so many different crazy things you can print, we felt it necessary to make this list of the coolest 3D prints.

While currently [easyazon_link identifier=”B018XJ3E02″ locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]3D printers[/easyazon_link] cost at least a few hundred American dollars just to be able to print a small (apple-sized) object, there are some cool-ass objects we can make with our small [easyazon_link identifier=”B00V3J8JEG” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]consumer-grade 3D printers[/easyazon_link]. Then there are the [easyazon_link identifier=”B01DTJSUNW” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]commercial/industrial 3D printers[/easyazon_link], which can print things like houses.

But first, here are some things that have influenced the coolest 3D prints that are available to us..

Preface: Influences Behind the Coolest 3D Prints

Star Wars Influence

Many 3D Prints seem to be focused on [easyazon_link identifier=”B00VF06OBS” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]Star Wars[/easyazon_link]-type objects, such as [easyazon_link identifier=”B00U6428ZA” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]blasters[/easyazon_link], [easyazon_link identifier=”B00TZF9U4I” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]character heads[/easyazon_link], and other nerdy shit. Fortunately, even non-Star Wars type people can still enjoy some of this stuff, like Yoda’s head (see #6 below).

Real World Applications

Many 3D prints are just for fun (see #9: [easyazon_link identifier=”B009AJDDQU” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]Prometheus[/easyazon_link] Vases below). But others are totally serious, such as 3D prints of [easyazon_link identifier=”B00BSR2QPG” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]guns[/easyazon_link], houses, [easyazon_link identifier=”B00QM8IBF0″ locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]cars[/easyazon_link], and even prosthetic limbs for humans. So, yes, you can make silly stuff with 3D printers. But you could also impact someone’s life in a HUGE (hopefully positive) way with them as well (see #3: 3D printed blood vessels below).

Sci Fi Movie Props

Let’s face it: 3D printers are for nerds. It makes sense that a lot of the prints we can make are props from [easyazon_link identifier=”B004ZJ9VXY” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]Sci Fi movies[/easyazon_link]. So if Sci Fi movies are your thing and you have a 3D printer, you’re in luck!

Top 10 Coolest Shit You Can Make on a 3D Printer

#1 Coolest Shit You Can Make on a 3D Printer:

3D Printed Guns

3D Printed Gun. Snap snap.

When people first started making 3D printed guns, they were basic and couldn’t handle the power of normal ammunition. Now, people started making better 3D guns and [easyazon_link identifier=”B0042WJ9EK” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]ammunition[/easyazon_link]that it can handle.

This turns gun-making from something that previously only companies like Smith & Wesson could do to something that anyone with a 3D Printer can do. Due to the amazing power and immediate real-world application of guns, we put it at #1 on our list of the Coolest 3D Prints.

3D printed guns are the most controversial topic surrounding 3d printing. There’s no question that 3D printed guns are the coolest 3d prints you can make.

Questions are out there which put moral implications into light, such as:

Will 3D printed guns be too easy to make by the wrong people (terrorists, etc)?

Will 3D printed guns be too easy to sneak through airport security and other metal detectors?

When the f**k do I get one!?

What kind of guns can be made with a 3D printer?

So far, mostly [easyazon_link identifier=”B002U93HMW” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]handguns[/easyazon_link]. Although at least 1 person reportedly made a 3D printed [easyazon_link identifier=”B000YAXRJC” locale=”US” tag=”arizonacaorg-20″]rifle[/easyazon_link]and posted the video on YouTube of him firing 10 rounds or so until the gun broke.

The applications for 3d printed blood vessels are obvious, but amazingly far-reaching. Creating 3d printed blood vessels could mean easier integration of the human body with prosthetic limbs and other physical enhancements.

This 3d printed tech has the potential to change lots of things in big ways – medical companies have invested in this heavily.

Your dream of becoming a cyborg is approaching rapidly.

#4 Coolest Shit You Can Make on a 3D Printer:

Cars

3D Printed Cars! Nerds can now make Ferraris in their mom’s basement.. (Almost).

You can make a car with a 3D printer. If you can make a car with a 3D printer, you can make a truck. If you can make a truck with a 3D printer, you can make a tank. Boom. Vroom.

3D Printed cars means we can eliminate the large expenses faced by auto makers when building vehicles. Since 3D Printers could print most or all of the car using one material (PLA, ABS, or other), this has the potential to revolutionize the auto industry forever.

Combine 3D Printed cars with some renewable power sources and you’ve got an entirely different beast: a car which requires no factory and no fossil fuels.

A company called Local Motors has created a 3D car. Check it out here.

Keep an eye out for this and other large-scale 3D printing applications making their way into real-world situations.

Soon you just might see your buddy driving around in his brand new 3D printed ’67 Impala.

#5 Coolest Shit You Can Make on a 3D Printer:

Acoustic MF’in Guitar!

3D Printed Acoustic Guitar

You can make some pretty awesome instruments with your 3D printer (well maybe not your 3D printer, but a 3D printer large enough to do so). People have made electric guitars – and now even acoustic guitars with their 3D printers.

Play all the Zelda theme songs you want on this 3D printed acoustic guitar.

Bring it to your 3D printed campfire and eat some 3D printed smores.

Rock on.

#6 Coolest Shit You Can Make on a 3D Printer:

YouTube Video: Yoda Head 3D Printing

Yoda’s Head

Yes, that’s right. Yoda’s head on your 3D printer you can make. And damn good it looks (see what we did there?).

Away put your need for a multi-thousand dollar 3D printer – Yoda’s head is supposed to be little anyway! So get your little 3D Printer out and print Yoda’s head.

Yoda’s head is one of the most popular things people make on a 3D printer.

People have made quite a few props from the Fifth Element movie, such as the police blaster and Lelu’s Multipass. If SciFi is your thing, then these movie props are definitely closer to the top of your own personal list of the coolest 3D prints.

Honorable Mentions:

(aka More Shit You Can Make on a 3D Printer)

The following shit didn’t make it onto our list of the coolest 3d prints, but they are cool enough to mention:

T-Rex Skeleton

T-Rex 3D Print. Don’t be scared, now.

No words can explain the awesome T-Rex. Dinosaur lovers and haters alike can appreciate the power of the mighty Rex. Show off the intricacy of your 3D printer and the powerful bone structure of the T-Rex.

Even Dr. Grant from Jurassic Park would be proud to showcase this piece on his desk.

This 3D print is 79 individual pieces which you assemble to create the final, complete skeleton.

Is this a novelty? Yes. Although it would be pretty cool to have a small-scale skeleton of one of nature’s most formidable predators.